Proclamation 5699 --
National Diabetes Month, 1987
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
Diabetes
affects the health of perhaps 11 million Americans. It can strike suddenly or
it can do subtle long-term damage to major organs. Fully half the people with
diabetes do not know they have the disease.
During
the last decade, our knowledge of diabetes has increased in the research
laboratory. We now have a better understanding of this disease and its
burdensome complications, but there is still much to learn. In addition, we
still face the major challenge of transforming research advances into practical
benefits for diabetes patients.
Diabetes
is a public health problem that affects both sexes and all ages and races.
Given the disability, the emotional toll, and the economic loss from diabetes
-- estimated at $14 billion per year in the United States -- our priorities
should continue to be research on this disease, how best to treat it, and how
best to communicate this knowledge to those who need it most. Through the
continued commitment and cooperation of private citizens and organizations, the
scientific community, and Federal, State, and local government in the fight against
diabetes, we will come closer to a cure and to better health for millions of
Americans.
To
increase public awareness of diabetes and to emphasize the need for continued
research and educational efforts aimed at controlling and curing this disease,
the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 44, has designated the month of
November 1987 as ``National Diabetes Month'' and authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,